The only one I hadn't heard of is The Format. I had a bad experience trying to play the Matthew Good Band once. I was suppose to play "Failing The Rorshach Test" but because the way the CD was labeled and such, I ended up playing the wrong track. (The first track was listed as "3:00", so I thought the first two tracks on the CD were throwaways....so I got confused.

Death Cab For Cutie...if I remember correctly, they're kind of trip-hop, aren't they? What I do know, is that they're named for the striptease song from the movie "Magical Mystery Tour."

1.<blockquote class='quote_blockquote'><dl><dt>Wikipedia</dt><dd>&nbsp;</dd></dl><div>Death Cab for Cutie is an American band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band takes its name from a satirical song, of the same name, performed by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band on their 1967 album Gorilla. The song was also performed in a striptease act in The Beatles' film Magical Mystery Tour.[/quote]

I'd like to ammend my list and add The Blood Brothers as well. They're not very mainstream, but i'll be damned if they aren't the most exciting thing happening in music right now. Their new album is in-fucking-credible.

Yes, The Format&#33; Like 20 people know about them here in California. Tune Out, Time Bomb, Dog Problems, and The Compromise (hate that beginning scream thing though) are some of my favorite songs ever.

I totally have no idea whats cool or in when it comes to music, but my top 5 favorite current are

1. Lamb of God - A breath of fresh air. I've found these guys to have some real talent in the new generation of metal bands.
2. Wolfmother - Excellent stoner band. The songs can be a little repetitive, but all in all their first album is a pretty fine hard rock piece. And their song Woman is practically everywhere.
3. Tenacious D - I don't need to do any explaining. Just avoid Jack Black's less-than stellar acting choices, and you remember that he's in a kick-ass band.
4. Nine Inch Nails - What a great band. Trent Reznor is a musical genius. I'm yet to be disappointed by any of their releases.
5. Electric Wizard - The heaviest band I've ever heard. These guys are like a super-down-tuned Monster Magnet. Unbelievable.

Past Bands (which I will only use as an implication of a past hey-day, not neccesarily for broken up bands)

1. Black Sabbath - Hard rock icons. Excellent musicianship by all four original members. The first five Sabbath albums are testaments to the possibility of rock and roll, and what would eventually become metal.
2. The Doors - Great band. Monumental songs, especially Roadhouse Blues. Good music for any time of day.
3. Kyuss - The finest stoner rock band there ever was. The band that would eventually spawn Queens of the Stone Age released four great albums, in particular, ...And The Circus Leaves Town.
4. Faith No More - The best bass-focused band since Motorhead. All I need to say. If you don't get it, oh well.
5. Pink Floyd - All I'll say, is if you get it, you get it. If you don't, you don'y.

These lists are pretty mish-mash. It was hard to leave out Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Butthole Surfers, Soundgarden, Metallica, Pantera, Slayer, Sepultura, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Beastie Boys, System of a Down, Cypress Hill, Corrosion of Conformity, and countless others.

<blockquote class='quote_blockquote'><dl><dt>Shadywhtboy22</dt><dd>Nov 23 2006&#44; 01:12 AM</dd></dl><div> 4. Faith No More - The best bass-focused band since Motorhead [/quote]
Les Claypool would like to have a word with you.

But Faith No More were awesome, as well as anything that Mike Patton has done like Mr. Bungle, Phantomas, or Tomahawk.

1. The White Stripes - Their deviation from standard rock is really what I like about them, and the fact that they create easy to listen to, memorable lyrics. Their music videos are awesome too.

2. Presidents of the Unites States of America - This band was only around for a short while, but every single one of their songs managed to be awesome and something I live. What I really liked about their songs was the fact that they were always something humorous and nonsensical, something that is always a nice change from the 'serious' songs with 'meanings'.

3. Red Hot Chilli Peppers - They are honestly extremely good. All(most) of their music is excellent, and there's really nothing more to say about them.

<blockquote class='quote_blockquote'><dl><dt>Shadywhtboy22</dt><dd>Nov 23 2006&#44; 06:24 AM</dd></dl><div> Oh right, Primus. Jesus. I think my brain just got tired of processing them. I've been listening to practically nothing but Primus for the past week. Went to see them live on Friday. Helluva show. [/quote]
Hell yeah. I went to see them on Tuesday in Denver. Incredible show, though my neck is still slightly sore from being pushed around for 2 hours. I was in the 3rd row (if you can call it that since it really is like a huge mass of people), so I was right in the heat of ass kicking central. I even got kicked in the face by a crowd surfer&#33;

They've been consistently good. Even their most mediocre effort, Alpha, had several good tracks on it. I just feel that they put out excellence with every effort.

4. Boston

The first artist I got into, and pretty much the only remaining classic artist I've really liked recently. More Than A Feeling remains one of my top hits today, as do Peace Of Mind, Foreplay/Long Time, and Don't Look Back. Cool the Engines is pretty great too.

3. Alter Bridge

From the ashes of Creed, these guys know how to rock. Like Sevendust they're consistently good, but they just put so much passion into their work. And Myles Kennedy is one of my favourite vocalists ever. The guy knows how to belt a tune.

2. Soundgarden

You can disagree but these guys, to me, are just about everything rock should be. You have amazing vocals from Chris Cornell, an absolutely killer guitar vibe from Kim Thayil, and Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd rounding out the epic drum and bass. Not only are they good, they're also original. You have the crazy hits like "Rusty Cage", "Spoonman", and "Loud Love", heavy duty grunge like "Outshined", "The Day I Tried To Live", and then slower tracks like "Black Hole Sun", "Blow Up the Outside World" which all just sound entirely abstract and inspiring. Now, their recent effort, King Animal, doesn't exactly reach their previous standards, but stuff like "Been Away Too Long" is a constant reminder of their talent.

1. Seether

#1? Why Seether? Good question. This is largely due to a real-life experience more than anything. Shaun Morgan and the guys just had so much fucking energy up on stage, it was ridiculous. And when you hear hits like "Gasoline", "Remedy", and "Fake It" performed pretty much perfectly live, you can't help but fall in love with these guys. In addition to the concert though, their recent album, Holding Onto Strings Better Left To Fray, strongly remains my favourite album of this current decade. There's so much power and diversity in their songs, and a lot of it remains personal to me. So there. That's why Seether is #1 for me. They're just a band that I have and can always completely relate to, and never get stale. A new album's arriving soon too. I'm pumped&#33;